Mariah Carey Shares Secrets to Post-Pregnancy Weight Loss

Before giving birth to twins, Moroccan and Monroe, Mariah Carey was known for her skintight attire and overall slinky style. But after gaining close to 100 pounds during her pregnancy, the pop icon was feeling less like a "skinny jeans" type of girl and more like a "sweat pants" new mama.

But Mariah's love affair with caftans and oversized clothes didn't last long. As her hushand Nick Cannon revealed last month, Mimi had begun working hard to regain her pre-pregnancy bod. "She's getting in shape. She's so focused right now on every aspect. She's going to come back and knock out the world," her proud hubby shared at the time. "Personally I think she's going to come out looking better -- looking like it's 1990! I think that's what she's aiming for, and I think she'll reach that goal."

Now, Mimi herself is opening up about her struggles to loss those excess new mommy pounds. In an interview with Rosie O'Donnell, Mariah shared: ""In the beginning, when I first had the babies, I had so much edema [swelling due to fluid retention] ... water and swelling. Most pregnant woman have that just in their feet. One day I was doing my thank-you notes and I noticed it started rising up the leg, so I had edema ... I didn't think I would ever be the same person ..."

Because Mariah had a Caesarean section, she had to wait longer than other new moms to hit the gym again, so she focused on altering her diet through a Jenny (previously Jenny Craig) meal plan to help her lose the weight. "It was just water, initially," said Mariah. "When I started with the program, I lost at least 30 pounds of weight that needed to be lost... The diet is 90 per cent of it."

"It was a huge blessing to be able to have the babies," Carey also tells Us Weekly. "But I felt trapped in my body because I couldn't move."

Between nutritious eating and eventual work outs, Mariah has lost close to 70 pounds -- and it shows. During a video shoot for her duet, 'All I Want for Christmas Is You,' with Justin Bieber, Mimi tweeted a pic of herself in sexy Santa garb. In other words ... she's back to her old self!